


Dog Show Romance

by enkelimagnus



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Background Catarina Loss/Dorothea "Dot" Rollins, Background Simon Lewis/Maia Roberts, Dobermans, Dog Shows, Dogs, M/M, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 15:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20245090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enkelimagnus/pseuds/enkelimagnus
Summary: Magnus Bane and his friends are back on the dog show circuit, with Magnus' three dobermans.Turns out this show's judge is Alec Lightwood, someone who's judged their dogs before and someone who Magnus got to know quite... intimately.





	Dog Show Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the wonderful Blue for looking this over!

Catarina Loss had been Magnus’ friend for a long time now, and not only was she his friend but she was also his partner in dog shows. She and the rest of their small team always knew how to calm Magnus and his dogs down. It was funny, in a way. Magnus was so used to this panic and stress of beauty contests but he still needed Catarina, Dot, Ragnor and Maia’s support. 

Catarina was currently out in the field, grabbing the show catalogue and checking who their judge was. It was a bit of a habit for them, not knowing the name of the judge until the very last moment. 

As Magnus smoothed over the lines of his grey suit, Maia, Ragnor, and Maia’s boyfriend Simon were making the dogs run around the field, getting as much of their restless energy out before the judging. 

Magnus watched the strong and determined gait of his babies. He wasn’t afraid of telling people his dogs were like his children. This time, he was presenting Persephone, a female puppy that would be in the Puppy category, Orpheus, a Twelve-to-Eighteen month male, and Lethe, his 4-year-old female that he was presenting in the Open category, and that Catarina and Dot’s kid, Madzie was going to present for extra points as a young handler. 

“You’re stressing out,” Dot pointed out. She’d just finished to set up the grooming table, and was looking at their friends running the dogs. “One day you’ll learn that you have nothing to worry about. Your darlings are perfect.”

Magnus shrugged. “I know. I don’t know why I worry. It’s stupid.” 

Just as he was muttering that, he caught sight of Catarina walking back towards them. Her face did not show any particular joy or dread so Magnus thought that it could only be good. She stopped next to them and sighed. 

“We’re having Alec Lightwood,” she said. “The one that judged Lethe and Orpheus last year.” 

Magnus froze. Fuck. That was just his fucking luck. 

Dot cursed. “If I remember well, he’s a hard ass.” 

Magnus nodded, silently. He remembered way too well. Alec Lightwood had incredibly observant eyes and one hell of a knowledge. Especially one hell of a knowledge of black and rust Doberman Pinschers like Magnus’ babies. Alec Lightwood also had amazing eyes and one hell of a knowledge of how to fuck a man like Magnus. 

Catarina stared at him. “You’re being weird, Magnus.” 

Dot raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I think he had a stroke. You good, buddy?” 

“Great, I’m just great,” Magnus mumbled. In all honesty, Magnus had not thought he’d see Alec again. He didn’t do dog shows that often, and there were many happening in the area. It had been almost a year since they’d seen each other too. Maybe Alec had forgotten about him? Magnus had not, for sure, but maybe the other man had made less of a big deal out of their absolutely wonderful night of lust and passion. 

Maia, Ragnor and Simon brought back the dogs and Dot grabbed Persephone, putting her on the grooming bench and starting to prepare her for judgement. Lethe laid down on the blanket next to Magnus’ feet, and Madzie started talking to her and petting her. 

Magnus could feel some of his nerves melt away as he watched his friends and his dogs, pulling Orpheus into his arms for a cuddle. Orpheus was starting to get a little too heavy for it, but Magnus never grew tired of cuddling his babies. 

All was going well when Orpheus wriggled out of his grasp and got back to the ground, going directly to sniff the shoes of the newest arrival. “Hello, pretty,” a voice cooed and Magnus froze, again. Fuck. 

He sat up from the stool they’d brought and held out his hand. The other man shook it. “Mr Bane,” he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.” 

Alec Lightwood was still very tall, with sharp hazel eyes and a sharper smile. He was still incredibly attractive. “Mr Lightwood,” Magnus nodded. “Should you be talking to us right now?” 

The man chuckled. “Don’t worry. I am going to all the owners to say hello. Common courtesy,” he nodded and winked at him. 

Magnus nodded, taking Orpheus’ leash firmly in hand. “That is very nice of you,” he replied. Alec Lightwood watched him with a certain smirk, something that made Magnus instantly aware that no, Alec had not forgotten either. 

Alec turned to the rest of the team. “Good morning, I’m Alec Lightwood. I hope you had a good trip here and that everything is going okay for you,” he said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants in a gesture that was probably sexy to none but Magnus. 

The team nodded, thanking him and making small talk for a couple of minutes. Ragnor was sending Magnus some very telling looks. Oh yeah, he was going to get a sermon the second Alec Lightwood walked away from them. 

“I’ll see you on the ring,” Alec said as parting words, his hand now gently tapping Magnus’ elbow before he walked away. 

“You fucked him,” Ragnor said immediately, and Magnus cringed. Not only did he not want Alec to hear, but he didn’t want the other owners to either. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Magnus sighed. “I did.” 

Maia chuckled. “Damn. Good catch, man.” 

Catarina sighed, shaking her head. “So  _ that’s  _ what you were doing last year after the show. Disappearing on us.”

“More of whom I was doing,” Magnus mumbled, crossing his arms. “I didn’t exactly think I’d see him again.” 

Dot rolled her eyes. “Come on. The world of doberman beauty contests is not that big.” 

“Was it worth it?” Ragnor asked, and Magnus opened his mouth and closed it again. 

He remembered the two glasses of gin and tonic at the hotel bar, the man’s eyes on him, and the way he talked about everything with the same devotion in his voice. They hadn’t only talked dirty, they’d talked dogs and laws and god, he’d been smart and caring and…. Magnus had thought about him for days after that night, Alec’s hands on him, firm and determined, mapping every inch of his body as they made out in the man’s hotel room. He remembered his cock inside of him, stretching him, filling him, long and fat and those perfectly rhythmic hard thrusts that made Magnus’ arms and legs weak and threatened to send him face first in the pillows. 

“Yes,” Magnus mumbled. “It was really fucking worth it.” 

He had no idea what the hell he was going to do now, because being close to Alec Lightwood again was sending his mind back to the year before and the things they’d done. He did not want to get a hard-on in the middle of judging. He was better than that. 

Catarina sighed. “Fine. Let’s get the dogs ready and hope this does not end in a disaster because of your libido.” She mumbled, and they all started preparing. Magnus stayed next to the dogs as he usually did, cuddling them and muttering praises. Judging was supposed to start soon enough. 

He clipped on the first number, the one for Persephone. He stood at the edge of the ring, watching the other dogs. They were of course aiming for Blue Ribbons of the first place for the three dogs, Winners Dog for Orpheus, Winners Bitch for either Persephone or Lethe. Having a Best in Breed title would also be nice, but Magnus wasn’t exactly pushing for that. They had two breeders in front of them, and Magnus doubted he would be better than them. 

Persephone stood quietly by his leg, and seemed to be observing the others as well. Before the females came the males, as to avoid possible odors of heats and other issues. Soon enough, it was their turn. 

Magnus led Persephone into the ring, and she trotted by his side evenly. He already wanted to take her in his arms and congratulate her. She held the position perfectly when they stopped, except an occasional tilt of the head. 

Alec walked to them, nodding. He mumbled little praises under his breath as he gently touched the dog, checking her entire body for any sign that she could be disqualified. Magnus watched him for a moment, seeing the way he was cataloguing everything. He checked her teeth and nodded, going to check the other dogs in her category. 

Magnus eventually led her in another round of trotting before Alec walked to him and shook his hand. “Congratulations,” he said softly. They were the first of the Puppy Bitch class. 

They went through all the rings and judgements and though they made it to Winners Dog and Bitch, they didn’t make it past that. The breeder in front of them had trained like crazy. It was always that. The breeders, their training and their ties to the judges. 

They broke out the wine bottle and the food, and settled around their table, the dogs laying at their feet and getting pieces of meat from them regularly. They laughed and had a drink and waited for the day to be over so they could get the hell out and go home. 

It was around 4pm when there was a clearing of throat behind Magnus and he looked around. Alec Lightwood was standing there. “May I have a word?” He asked, and it was clear that he was talking and thinking only to Magnus. 

Magnus stood up, leaving everyone behind but taking the plastic cup full of rosé with him. Alec and him walked a bit away, towards an area with a bit less people. Magnus stayed silent, occasionally glancing at the man next to him. 

“I recognized the dog’s name first,” Alec said after a while of walking in silence. “Lethe of the Silent Gardens? I remembered you teaching me how to pronounce it when we were at the bar,” he chuckled. “I couldn’t seem to be able to get it. And then… Breeder: Ragnor Fell, Owner: Magnus Bane. That’s a whole lot of hard to pronounce words. The kind that you remember easily after a while.” 

“You didn’t seem to have problems with Magnus, last time we met,” Magnus pointed out, taking a sip of his wine and looking at the man. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.” 

“Me neither,” Alec said. “But I hoped I would. You left quite an impression.” 

Magnus hummed. “My number was on the Judging Program, in the list of owners. You didn’t call.” 

Alec chuckled, putting his hands behind his back. “I don’t exactly keep every program of every show I go to.”

“I do. I keep them and I write the price we got, and I put them in a box on my bookshelves. Like a box of dog show related memories, I guess.” Magnus looked at him. “Why did you want to talk to me?” 

Alec stopped walking and sighed, obviously bracing himself. “I have been thinking about you… so often in the last year. And not just because you’re amazing in bed, you just… the way you talk, the way you smile, and the way you’re with your dogs, it’s adorable.” 

Adorable? Magnus was rarely called adorable. He didn’t hate it at all, in fact, he loved it. 

“I’m from New York,” Magnus said. “I live in Brooklyn.”

Alec grinned. “Me too.” 

Magnus didn’t know what he was doing but he took out his own phone and opened a message. “Give me your number,” he said. “We can meet up and… I don’t know. Talk about stuff.” 

Alec chuckled and nodded. “Let me.” He reached over, taking Magnus’ phone from his hands and typing in his number. “Here. I want to see you again. Outside of a dog show, and… sooner than in a year, okay?” 

Magnus nodded. “That works. Okay, we can do that.” He put his phone back in his pocket and looked at the other man. “It wouldn’t be appropriate to kiss you here and now, so I’ll wait until our first date.” 

Alec looked at him with a grin. God, he was beautiful when he grinned. It made Magnus’ heart beat faster and felt like sunshine after a grey day. “Our first date… Next week. Are you free?” 

“Wednesday evening?” 

“Perfect,” Alec replied, and the word in itself was full of joy. 

They stayed like this, a little awkward, for a moment, before Alec walked him back to where his friends were. Magnus finished the wine and he invited Alec to have a drink, but the man refused. They nodded at each other. Magnus settled back in his camping chair and shrugged when his friends asked what that had been about. 

His phone vibrated with a new text message that read: “Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday. - AL” 


End file.
